The France international - a rival for Irwin's full-back berth - claims he is having to bite his tongue as he battles with the former Republic of Ireland international for a first-team role.

Silvestre, who was drafted into the centre of defence for the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday, also disagrees with Ferguson's criticism of United's leaky defence.

"Alex Ferguson repeatedly opts to play Denis Irwin and that is something I find really hard to cope with," Silvestre said.

"However I will hold myself back for the time being. I need to keep calm. It would be idiotic to blow a fuse but I've strung together some good performances so I feel somewhat bitter about our difficult start to the season.

"We have let in a lot of goals since the start of the season and according to the manager the problems stem from the centre of defence.

"I have sat through videos of our matches with the manager but I don't agree with the theories he puts forward."